A cross-reference of related applications are provided at the end of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments section of the present application.
The present invention relates to communication between users in diverse communication systems, and more particularly, to providing simplified service control for a broadband communication system including an Internet Protocol Telephony Network and public switched telephone network.
Present day telephony voice networks, have a network built around circuit switches, end offices, a toll network, tandem switches, and twisted pair wires. These voice networks are referred to as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or plain old telephone service (POTS). Due to bandwidth limitations of plain old telephone service (POTS), there is an inherent inability to efficiently integrate multiple types of media such as telephony, data communication for personal computers (PC), and television (TV) broadcasts. Accordingly, a new broadband architecture is required. This new architecture gives rise to a new array of user services. Further, this new architecture gives rise to new methods for provisioning telephone service and managing the association of directory numbers with telephone equipment so that the broadband communications network can, for example, properly route telephone or multimedia call traffic throughout the broadband communication network and legacy telephone networks (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN)).
Aspects of the invention include to providing broadband access capabilities or enhanced services for use in conjunction with a packetized network such as an Internet Protocol (IP) based system infrastructure.
Other aspects of the invention include providing one or more of the following either individually, or in any combination or sub-combination:
a new broadband architecture;
broadband network capabilities, including local access;
enhanced services for use in conjunction with a packetized network such as an Internet. Protocol (IP) based system infrastructure.
The present invention provides systems and techniques for service control useful in a powerful, facilities-based, broadband communications system that guarantees voice, data and video communication reliability and security to users for a multimedia system including integrated telephone, television and data network.
One manner of providing service control includes using a server, for example a dynamic host protocol server (DHCP), that may be provided to, among other things, dynamically assign system addresses to various pieces of equipment throughout the broadband communication system. The DHCP may, for example, dynamically assign an IP address to a broadband residential gateway (BRG) based on a media access control (MAC) address of the BRG. The BRG may then store that IP address in, for example, memory, and will insert that IP address into all packets sent by the BRG into the broadband communication system. Further, all information packets directed to the BRG will include the IP address so that the information packets can be successfully routed to the correct BRG. As a result, communication traffic may be successfully routed throughout the broadband communication system using the IP address assigned by the DHCP. However, existing telephone networks direct traffic using directory numbers. To facilitate telephony traffic (or other information traffic control) the broadband communication system may create and assign a directory number for one or more telephones connected to the system (particularly for off-network telephone calls). This directory number is cross-correlated to one or more system addresses, for example, an IP address which have been assigned by the DHCP. The cross-correlation may be created and maintained by a server, for example the call manager (CM) server. When a call originating in, for example a legacy telephony system such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), is directed to a system subscriber""s telephone in the broadband communication system, the CM may receive voice and signaling information from a voice gateway (VG) connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or a signaling gateway (SG) connected to an SS7 network. This information will be directed to a directory number of, for example, one or more telephones of the subscriber. The CM may then identify what system address (e.g., IP address) that DN has been assigned to and direct the call traffic to that system address. The CM may then insert the call information into packets (e.g., packetized voice) and direct it to the correct subscriber equipment, for example one or more telephone(s) connected to a BRG. In this way, using the IP address assigned by the DHCP and the directory number (DN) assigned to the system address (e.g., IP address) by the CM, the CM is able to properly establish a directory number with one or more telephones in the system and provide proper traffic routing between a telephone in the broadband communication system and a legacy telephone system that uses directory numbers for traffic, routing.
In another manner of providing the service control of the present invention, the relationship between the media access control (MAC) address of various pieces of equipment may be directly correlated to one or more directory numbers (DN). In this manner, a DHCP is not needed to assign a system address (e.g., IP address) to each piece of equipment in the system. Rather, the call manager (CM) will assign when necessary (for example when telephone calls will be made to a legacy telephone network using the particular piece of equipment (e.g., a POTS telephone)) a directory number (DN) to the equipment MAC address. Traffic routing of information packets in this broadband communication network will be enabled using the MAC addresses of the various pieces of equipment, rather than using IP addresses. For example, packetized information for a telephone call directed to a system subscriber which is originated off-network, for example in a PSTN, may be routed to the call manager (CM) through the voice gateway and signaling gateway and contain a directory number associate with one or more of the system subscriber""s telephones. The CM will then directly relate the DN with the MAC address for the subscriber""s BRG and/or telephony port card. The CM will then communicate with the subscriber""s BRG and/or telephony port card using the MAC address associated with the assigned directory number (DN). In one variation of this embodiment the CM may insert the DN information into the packetized information if the subscriber has more than one DN associated with a single MAC address. Further, the MAC address of other equipment, for example a personal computer (PC), may also have a cross referenced assigned DN.
Although the invention has been defined using the appended claims, these claims are exemplary and not limiting in that the invention is meant to include one or more elements from the apparatus and methods described herein and in the applications incorporated by reference in any combination or sub-combination. Accordingly, there are any number of alternative combinations for defining the invention, which incorporate one or more elements from the specification (including the drawings, claims, and applications incorporated by reference) in any combinations or sub-combinations.